Rosenbaum v Myers, 2022 NY Slip Op 33975(U)  November 18, 2022  Supreme Court, New York County  Docket Number: Index No. 652971/2019  Judge: Lucy Billings is a most unusual story.  Attorney and divorce client meet, successfully obtain the divorce, fashion the attorney fee payment based upon investment advice given by the attorney to the client,…

Earlier, we discussed the elements of a Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claim as enunciated in Shan Yun Lin v Lau  2022 NY Slip Op 06279  Decided on November 9, 2022  Appellate Division, Second Department.  Today, legal malpractice elements.

“The existence of an attorney-client relationship is an essential element of a cause of action to recover…

Shan Yun Lin v Lau  2022 NY Slip Op 06279  Decided on November 9, 2022  Appellate Division, Second Department gives a concise description of a good breach of fiduciary duty claim.

“The Supreme Court also properly denied dismissal of the breach of fidiciary duty cause of action as duplicative of the legal malpractice cause of…

Besides the question of whether there was continuous representation, Basile v Law Offs. of Neal Brickman, P.C. 2022 NY Slip Op 06079 Decided on November 01, 2022 Appellate Division, First Department considers the question of how the defendant law office handled its move and forwarding of mail.

“The legal malpractice claim may not be barred…

Zi Kuo Zhang v Lau  2022 NY Slip Op 06287  Decided on November 9, 2022  Appellate Division, Second Department  is the story of escrow money gone astray.

“The plaintiffs commenced this action against the defendant Jay Lau and his law firm, the defendant Lau & Associates, P.C. (hereinafter together the Lau defendants), among others, asserting,…

Privity is a keystone in the legal malpractice world.  Here. in Jarmuth v Wagner    2022 NY Slip Op 33698(U)  October 28, 2022  Supreme Court, New York County  Docket Number: Index No. 161816/2019 Judge: Dakota D. Ramseur a co-op shareholder sues the Co-op’s attorney derivatively on behalf of the Co-op.

“In December 2019, Plaintiff Sandra…

Sometimes a legal malpractice claim against attorney 1 can trigger disclosure of attorney-client communications with attorneys 2 and 3, if there is a sufficient relationship between the communications with other attorneys and the legal malpractice  claim.  Not so in 2138747 Ontario Inc. v Lehman Bros. Holdings, Inc.  2022 NY Slip Op 06087  Decided on…

“Actual Innocence” is a huge burden to overcome.  It is necessary to demonstrate that standard in order to plead a legal malpractice claim arising from representation in a criminal defense case.  Even if you can show actual innocence, as in Broomes v Legal Aid Socy. of N.Y. City, Inc., 2022 NY Slip Op 06101  Decided…